Could a Myth Alter History?
The argument against Jesus’ existence, known as the Christ-myth theory, began seventeen centuries after Jesus is said to have walked the rocky hills of Judea.
An important distinction between a myth and a real person is how the figure impacts history. For example, the Olympic Games originated on Mount Olympus in Greece, home of the temple of the Greek god Zeus. But Zeus has not changed governments, laws, or ethics.
The historian Thomas Carlyle said, “No great man lives in vain. The history of the world is but the biography of great men.”¹ As Carlyle notes, it is real people, not myths, who impact history. [Read More...]
Did the apostles and early Christians worship and pray to Jesus as Lord?
After Jesus ascended, the apostles stunned both Jew and Roman by proclaiming Jesus as “Lord.”¹ And the apostles did the unthinkable and worshipped Jesus, even praying to him as if he was God. Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” as he was being stoned to death (Acts 7:59). [Read More...]
Is 2012 the Last Year?
As we celebrate the beginning of 2012, the media is once again buzzing with end-of-world prophecies. December 21, 2012 is the end date of a 5,125-year-long cycle in the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar¹, which some have interpreted as a prediction of the end of the world. Some adherents to this view are now even making “last year on Earth” resolutions. [Read More...]
Is Jesus a Myth as Atheists Claim?
Earlier this month, The Christian Post reported that the American Atheists group had sponsored billboards in several states as a part of the group’s “You KNOW It’s a MYTH” campaign. The billboards display pictures of Jesus, Santa Claus and devil images and ask, “What myths do you see?”¹
The promotion of Jesus as a myth has long been a tactic of atheists. But what are the facts? [Read More...]
What Is the Real Meaning of Christmas?
Christmas means different things to different people. To most, it is a heartwarming time with family and friends. To many children, it’s about presents and Santa. To merchants, it means a season when many retailers finally begin making money.
But if you were to go back seven hundred years before the birth of Christ and ask the prophet Isaiah what it means to him, he would tell you Christmas is about the birth of a special child: [Read More...]
Was Darwin Correct?
Q: Does evidence support Darwin’s theory that all life evolved by undirected natural processes?
A: Evidence supports Darwin’s theory of microevolution, where environmental adaptations result in variation within a single population, such as a species. [Read More...]
Return of the King
In J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, the mythical land of Gondor is overrun by the orcs of Mordor. Aragorn must realize his true identity and purpose as the King of Men, in order that the final battle against evil can be won.
The roots of Tolkien’s plot of a returning king who destroys evil and restores peace to the world is taken from Jesus Christ’s words spoken to his followers. On several occasions he had told them that he would return when the time was right. They expected it to be soon, but it has now been nearly 2,000 years since Jesus left the Earth. Jesus had a job for his followers to do before he returned. [Read More...]
What are the Odds?
According to the Hebrew requirement that a prophecy must have a 100 percent rate of accuracy, the true Messiah of Israel must fulfill them all or else he is not the Messiah. So the question that either vindicates Jesus or makes him culpable for the world’s greatest hoax is, did he fit and fulfill these Old Testament prophecies? [Read More...]
The Radical Claims of Jesus
As we look into Jesus’ own words, a pattern seems to emerge. Jesus made radical assertions about himself that, if true, unmistakably point to his deity.
One day Jesus was debating some Pharisees at the Temple, when suddenly he told them he is “the light of the world.” It is almost bizarre to picture this scene, where a traveling carpenter from the lowlands of Galilee tells these PhDs in religion that he is “the light of the world?” Believing that Yahweh is the light of the world, they replied indignantly:
“You are making false claims about yourself” (John 8:13 NLT). [Read More...]
Has the Designer Spoken?
Materialists speak of a cold, uncaring universe that has originated by undirected forces blindly operating through eons of time. They believe in a universe without any purpose. But some startling new evidence recently brought forth seems to challenge their skepticism.
In The Privileged Planet, theologian Jay Richards and astronomer Guillermo Gonzalez reveal a startling fact: Earth has been placed in an optimal location for scientific observation of our universe.¹
In other words, if Earth was in a slightly different position in our solar system or galaxy, or located in another galaxy, we might find ourselves looking at a night sky with no stars to observe. Or the sky might be so flooded with light that we couldn’t distinguish one star from another. If we didn’t have this optimal position, many of the discoveries about our universe would have been impossible. [Read More...]